9/23 – Smashed it…

What better way to get back into this little blog then by smashing a WOD, a much needed (non-competitive) win.  It was one of those days.

And also, when friends note how they still check this space it’s a good reminder that you enjoy writing and to get back at it (thanks Mike J.)

So… here we go.  Ready?

First let’s talk about how I’m kind of broken right now… I dealt with my nagging shoulder issues for months now and never bothered to do anything about it mostly because I hate stopping and I know that the only real solution is rest – complete and utter rest – and an abusive relationship with my physio but that’s another story (love you Andrew).

Spent the morning getting needled and swearing out loud (see, not a positive relationship at all) and having a dead achy shoulder all day long.  I knew that I’d be subbing in the WOD.

Strength

3-3-3

Strict press

17.5-15-16-17.5(2)

Minh and I were both down a shoulder so we were instructed to do one arm dumbbell presses.  It worked well though 17.5 was really hard (I did it in the warmup time just to see if I could) then 15kg was pretty easy so I switched to 16kg KB for the last set then gave 17.5kg a go again just to see if I could (I couldn’t – the second rep even was crap) – still made it work.

WOD

21-15-9

Chest to overhead (60/42.5)

Deadlift (60/42.5)

200m run

6:16 (15kg DB/ Rx/ Rx)

Again, used a db for the WOD and did all one arm chest to overhead.  The 15kg was a solid weight even though I managed to go unbroken throughout it was still a struggle physically though my mental strength got me through (especially when I saw others putting the bar down).  The deadlifts were good, not too heavy but still taxing.  Had to keep reminding myself to breath.  And the runs were good – 200m isn’t a bad distance.  It wasn’t far enough for the fast boys just behind me to catch up so I managed to win the heat – and while I know it’s not a competition it was just one of those days where I needed the win personally.  It was a shit day and I felt strong and solid and gave everything in that wod and it paid off.

Thankfully too it stopped raining between the start of class and the WOD otherwise we would have had to row (and I would have had 50 DU’s to do instead – though that might have been fun too).

Also, the final inspiration of this post was to note how my words were used against me last night – and it was a good thing.  I think it might have been when I was trying the 17.5kg db again at the end that I said ‘I can’t do it for three’ and Mingh turned to me and said ‘you’ve already talked yourself out of it, there’s no way you’ll do it now’ and I had to change my mindset before picking it up.  He has a point, it makes a HUGE difference – believe in ourselves and though it’s easy to forget sometimes in the moment it was a reminder I needed.  I think it also helped me during the WOD to push through my perceived mental barriers and keep grinding out the remaining reps each set rather than resting.  Thanks Minh.

9/4 – The Running WOD

The day came – the day of the 5km run WOD.  I actually showed up to it too.  I dreaded it all day (dislike running immensely) but still made it to the box, still laced up my shoes and got my game face on and while I moaned through the warm up (and my aching calves) I smiled and stayed positive throughout the 5 lap run and this helped me immensely.

Spoiler alert:  CROSSFIT WORKS!

WOD

5km run

26:47

I am not a runner nor will I ever choose to be.  I have tried in the past and have completed a half marathon but I get bored and I just don’t find the ease and enjoyment of running like some do.  I can push myself to new frontiers mentally and physically in a good old hybrid WOD but running isn’t a place where I am happy being in that unhappy place.  Still, when I have to bust out a 5km run though I am happy to say that I can.  I am even happier to say that I can do it (mostly) at a sub 5:30/km pace (the 4^th km pace was 5:37).

Beforehand I was hoping for a time of 25 minutes maximum but I didn’t have it today. Still I was quite happy with the achievements I did make – I didn’t stop.  I kept a positive outlook even when things started to hurt (stupid right IT band) and I pushed through when I wanted to quit.  It wasn’t easy - though I had my music, I didn’t have anyone to pace off of and when Bruce passed me halfway through the 4^th lap I presumed he was lapping me like a couple of the boys already had and though I stayed with him for a little bit I backed off knowing that I still had 1.5 laps to get through – turns out he was behind me the first 3.5 laps – sneaky!

Still, I read a ton of runner blogs and note paces held around the 9min/mile mark (5:50/km) and realized that I managed this without regularly running for which I am hugely stoked.  It also gives me a bit more confidence for holding on during the upcoming Tough Mudder – though I know that is a much longer distance I still felt fairly comfortable after the 5km mark to keep going if I had to – I have a pace it’s not a killer pace but it’s one I can maintain (again, I don’t like going to that ‘this hurts’ place).

Anyway, as much as I didn’t want to do this I was happy when it was over though now my calves are uber tight (between the box jump rebounding and the run) – mobilizing barely made a difference.  Ouch.

Rest day Thursday though – so excited!!!

9/3 – Choose your Own (Weight and Height) Adventure

Definitely feeling trap soreness after getting back into it on Monday night – likely a case of (too) many burpees… alas.  This is what I earned after a week of lovely leisure.  Anyway, the WOD for today looked innocent enough on paper but it was anything but in reality.

WOD

Alternating EMOM for 10 Minutes

15 Kettlebell Swings

15 Box Jumps

24kg (20kg for last 2 rounds)

24” (rebounded all rounds)

We were able to choose our own KB weight and box height for this and then we partnered up with one of us starting on the KB (Ali) and the other (me) on the box jumps.  It was tough right from the start – the KB swings specifically.  For most of the rounds I was finishing the box jumps in about 30 seconds rebounding them all and where required resting for an extra breath (or two) on top of the box.  The KB swings slowed me right down – a combination of feeling it in my back and my hands hurting (afraid of tearing them actually).  I did the first two rounds unbroken at 24kg then split up the third into 10-5.  I put on my weight belt starting the 4^th round as this is when I really started to feel it in my back but it came undone for some reason and instead of fixing it I just jumped on the unmanned 20kg KB beside me for the 13 additional reps which I think I still split up.  It was touch.  The last round I just grabbed the 20kg and went 10-5 again on the reps.  Ouch.  Definitely a challenge overall but happy to have finished it, more happy overall with my box jumps – seems like it’s been a long time since we’ve done them.

9/2 – A week of rest, a new month

After a full 9 days of nothing more than lying on a beach, working on my tan (sunburn?), eating and drinking (the island dry of beer) and a little bit of learning to fly a kite it was back at it on Monday and boy did it hurt (in a good way – I’m still not sure).

WOD

3rds for reps

3min ON / 3mins REST

Row 500m then
Max Ring Dips

1:49/ 10 (yellow band)

1:57/ 5 (orange band)

1:59 (run)/ 10 (orange band)

+60 burpees*

*For those of us in the competitive program for every second we were over 1:30/1:45 we incurred a 2 burpee penalty to be done after the class (or whenever I guess as this wasn’t really specified).  It also wasn’t specified who had to do the burpees either so some of us decided it was better to share.  Sharing is caring (or something like that).

I felt okay on the first row – well, for the first 300m of it at least.  It was a struggle to hold on and even more so when I needed to get back on it.  3 minutes seems like a long time but really it wasn’t much at all.  The second row was a killer.  I finished and could barely feel my legs – well, I could feel them cramping up.  I did a measly 5 ring dips and then during the ‘rest’ I lost feeling completely in my legs – from the arches of my feet right up to my glutes they were solid – ouch.  I could barely walk let alone try and convince myself to get back on the rower.  I decided that I’d run the last round instead (Tara was running the WOD due to a shortage of rowers anyway).  It was a struggle but I think overall it turned out best for my legs as it got some circulation going a bit.  Still a struggle.

Ali and I were alternating on the WOD and since Tara was running she incurred no burpee penalties so Ali and I added ours together and split them three ways.  Ended up doing 4 sets of 11 each and we rotated through so we got to rest while the others were working – this definitely helped with the motivation factor to keep pushing through it.  When we finished Cam still had 150 left (yup!) so we pooled together and helped him out – Ali managed to rope in Lewis and Matt as well so the 6 of us worked doing sets of 6 to get through it.  The last 5 Cam and I did together and he went crazy fast, it was a challenge but I did it.  I ended up doing another 30 (6x5) with his so overall did more than my initial 60.  Was actually fun though doing them that way rather than just on our own.  There were a lot of burpees acquired that day that’s for sure.

My body hurts, feeling everything especially tight in the traps and pecs.  Good to be back into it again though.

Also, thanks to Steph for being awesome George and I are registered for Primal Pairs in October.  Can’t wait.  Should be fun.

8/21 – AMRAPs Galore

WOD

3 x 5 Minute AMRAPs

*2 Minutes rest between each AMRAP

A.
10 Dumbbell Snatch (each arm)
20 Squats

3+10

B.
10 Hand release push ups
20 Sit Ups

4+3

C.
Calorie Row

78 cal

Today was AMRAP day – three of them.  It’s amazing how long 5 minutes can feel especially while staring down the clock on a rower. 

We went in two heats and Jaz started first (I really didn’t want to go at all especially after doing the heavy squats before the class).  It truly was amazing as we waited for them to finish how long that 5 minutes seemed to take.  I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. 

In the first AMRAP we had to do 10 snatches on each arm (one then the other, no alternating) .  I started off feeling okay even though I could see George and Toni and they were going faster than me – I tried not to think of that nor try and keep their pace, I just did my thing which was good (for me).  I was power snatching for the first round (all rounds unbroken on the snatches) then just mentally willed myself through the squats – mostly stopping briefly after 10 reps to shake my legs out (they were revolting).  Because of the state of my legs I started muscle snatching (which felt awesome by the way) as much as I could usually having to switch to power snatching the last few reps on each side.  This definitely made me faster though toward the end started taking a bit more toll on my lower back.

The second AMRAP wasn’t too bad though I could feel the hurt in my abs from Monday’s EMOM extra work where we did 20 sit-ups ever other minute.  I did the first round of push-ups Rx then went down to my knees for the rest just given how my shoulder has been feeling.  I knew it needed a break and push-ups are one of the worst things to aggravate it (as do dips).  This AMRAP was just a push to keep moving even as it started to hurt a little.

The row was my least favorite of the three and though I knew it was coming I didn’t think much of it until we were heading to it.  I grabbed my headphones and music to listen to mostly just because I’d been doing that during my squats and figured it wouldn’t hurt – it would at least provide me with a bit of a distraction.  The only good thing about this AMRAP was that I have no idea what my ‘normal’ pace equates to in calories/hour and that was the only screen I could see.  It was good because had I seen my 500m split time I’d know if I was fast/slow and could really judge my dropping off.  Instead of pushing to hold something I just went with how I was feeling.  I kept between 900-1100 calories/hour with a fairly low stroke rate (about 25-28).  I always love with Coach Tara is watching me row as inevitably at some point she’ll come around and check out my screen (I think it’s because it doesn’t look like I’m working very hard) and then doesn’t really say much – I like this, trying to row as ‘effortlessly’ or perhaps a better word would be ‘efficiently’ as possible.  Checking out what some of the boys did on this AMRAP after the WOD I felt fairly good about my effort – my rowing is definitely coming along even though I still don’t like anything more than generally 500m (and even that’s a stretch).

Finished up the class with some mobility. The flying V stretch was amazing.  Loved it especially as I was laying outside and the breeze was nice and refreshing post row – though my butt definitely hurt as I tried to wiggle my way into it – so cramped.